Crescent Moon
by JasperCanBiteMeAnyday
Summary: Vampire Alice Cullen meets human Jasper Whitlock in the small town of Forks, Washington. Maybe it's all the rain going to Alice's head but she is sure she sees something special in him. And so a bittersweet love ensues. Twilight Alice/Jasper style.
1. Chapter 1

Alice idly tears at the human food in front of her with her thin, pale fingers and French-manicured nails that she did last night. She scatters the dozens of pieces about her tray and then goes to work at making a design of them. Soon enough, a pointillism-like portrait of Bella stares back at her. Her hair is made of green and orange flecks, her skin is mushy and yellow, and her eyes, ironically, are red and lumpy, but the resemblance stands nonetheless.

"Don't you love it?" Alice asks in her tinkling soprano voice, pushing the tray towards Bella who grins and rolls her doe-like, topaz eyes.

"It's wonderful, Alice," Bella replies in a voice like a mother to a child although Alice is actually older than Bella in human _and_ vampire years, "Just like the one you made yesterday, and the day before that, and last week, and every day of school since I became a vampire."

Alice sticks out her tongue at Bella, who rolls her eyes once more and snuggles deeper into Edward's side. Alice looks away quickly. The intimacy and love circulating between the mates in her family has been a little overwhelming lately. For someone who is used to knowing when things are going to happen, it's terribly hard for her to not know when she's finally going to find someone who she'll look at like Bella looks at Edward, or like Rose looks at Em, or like Esme looks at Carlisle.

"Hey, I thought I was your muse, Alice," Emmett grumbles, snatching the tray and glaring at Bella's food face.

"An artist can't be tied down," Alice says in her most aristocratic, melodramatic voice, plucking her tray away from him and swiftly prancing across the cafeteria causing dozens of sets of eyes to be drawn to her just because of the way she moves, and dumps her masterpiece into the garbage.

She returns to her family to find Edward talking about the new guy who had moved into town. Everyone has been talking about him for the past week and apparently he arrived today. The _amazing_ son of Charlie Whitlock, chief of the Forks Police Department. Which translates to chief of a single deputy and a cramped concrete building. _Oooh, aaah_. Everyone has been dying to get a glimpse of him. Looking around, Alice doesn't see any unfamiliar faces though. It really doesn't matter – a new human isn't even half as exciting for her as, say, a new shade of lipstick coming out in the MAC collection.

"I'll catch you losers later," Alice tells her quasi-siblings in a teasing voice, "I have a date with a scalpel and a frog." She winks cutely at them, and then slides her creme-colored hobo bag up on her shoulder and flits out of the cafeteria just as the early bell sounds. They aren't even dissecting today in biology, but whenever Alice so much as hears the word biology, dozens of dissected frogs of highschool-go-around's past come swarming through her head. If she wasn't so used to dead animals, having vivid images of digging into countless frogs drifting through her mind for an entire hour every day just might be disturbing.

Alice gingerly takes a seat at her lab station, noticing Mr. Banner, her old, haggard teacher, glancing at the empty bar-stool next to her and then at a piece of paper in his hands. No one has ever bothered to try to be Alice's lab partner. Nothing personal – just a natural instinct to stay far from her at all costs drilled into them.

A familiar, prickly tingle dances across Alice's skin and then she is swept into the future. She watches as a teenage human boy walks into the biology classroom and is directed to the seat next to her, and then returns to the present only moments later. Looks like someone's getting a lab partner.

The bell rings shrilly, telling all students they had better be in class, and then about ten seconds later, a boy saunters nonchalantly into the classroom. Mr. Banner gives him a puzzled look and purses his thin lips. "_You're_ the chief's son? Jasper Whitlock?" Mr. Banner asks incredulously.

Alice is thinking the same thing. This boy doesn't look like he could possibly come from the same blood-line as gruff, uptight, strict Chief Whitlock who is hardly ever found without his police uniform ironed and spotless, his ashen hair combed neatly to the side, slate-gray eyes that are as cold as steel, and his mustache perfectly manicured.

Jasper has messy, shaggy honey-blonde hair that falls into his forehead, sea-green eyes, dozens of bracelets on each wrist, a form-fitting navy blue, threadbare t-shirt with some sort of band insignia on it, and black jeans that hang low, exposing a pair of blue and green striped boxers, threatening to slip off and gather around his knock-off Converse at any moment.

Jasper grins sardonically and replies, "Yes, sir," with an adorable Southern-drawl. He came from Texas – how much sexier can a guy get?

"Very well, then. You may take a seat next to Miss Cullen," Mr. Banner gestures to the only free seat in the room. Jasper seems a little startled as his eyes land on Alice, appraising her for a moment, shocked by her vampiric beauty. In a matter of a few seconds, he studies her from her stylish, spiky, ink-black hair, to her huge golden eyes framed by delicate dark lashes and shimmery make up, to her smooth, even, ivory-colored skin, to her cute little slightly-upturned nose, to her pouty, rose-red lips, to her incredibly thin, petite figure clad in designer clothing, to her little toenails painted neon-pink barely sticking out of her creme-colored two-inch slingbacks that rest against the metal bar in the front of the lab station.

Alice feels like some sort of bacteria under a microscope. She's quickly aware of all her flaws – something very non-Alice like. Her fingers rake through her soft-as-silk hair, wishing it was long and flowing like Bella's or Rosalie's, not shaven so short which she knows must have happened during her stay in the asylum. She sits up straighter, self-conscious of her tiny 4'10" frame.

But Jasper smiles at her, a flirty and friendly smile that suddenly makes Alice feel like the most beautiful creature on this planet.

And then reality hits her. What the hell? Why did she care what this inane human boy thought of her? Her short hair is stylish and completely in right now, and her height is adorable. If Jasper doesn't think so, then that's just too bad, so sad, but Alice could certainly care less... Right?

Alice smiles back pleasantly, and he strolls over to their table and drops his ratty backpack on the floor with a thud. It's probably crammed with textbooks since it's his first day. He has muscular arms though, and supported it so easily that Alice never even noticed how heavy it probably is.

He scrapes the barstool back on the linoleum and takes a seat, his posture faux-relaxed. Alice can see how rigid he is. Maybe because it's his first day and he's surrounded by people he doesn't know in an unfamiliar place, or maybe because he just so happens to be sitting next to the world's most dangerous predator. Probably both.

Alice notices how incredible he smells immediately, and not just in an entree sort of way. He's chewing cinnamon-flavored gum, and is wearing cologne that smells like the most perfect array of spices. His blood is of course alluring also, but not her main focus. Decades of practice has allowed for that.

After a few minutes of listening to Mr. Banner drone on about how the ocean is, in theory, going to rise and wipe out half the major cities in America, Alice risks a glance over at the young, attractive boy next to her. And finds his turquoise eyes fixed on her.

Their eyes lock for a moment, and then they both glance away quickly. She covertly sneaks a peek out of the corner of her eyes and sees him smiling while staring straight ahead. She smiles too, although she isn't quite sure why.

The develop a routine of sneaking glances at each other, waiting for the other to look and then quickly averting their gaze. It becomes almost like a game, and for some reason, Alice can't seem to wipe the stupid, broad grin off her face the entire time.

She memorizes the smallest details of the left side of his face - his high cheekbones, strong jaw, the two freckles on his neck that look like a snake bite, the jagged scar that runs from the corner of his eye to his hairline, the many other small, faint scars that crisscross on his neck. She wonders why they're there, what their story is. She's curious about why his nose is slightly crooked as if it has been broken before. She picks out the different shades of gold that weave through his long, wavy hair - butterscotch, honey, brass, sunshine.

Then, near the end of the period, she looks over at him and is greeted by the now familiar sea-green eyes framed with golden eyelashes, but this time, he doesn't look away. Alice is trapped in his stare for at least five seconds, the air between them feeling hot and heady. Then he breaks away and stares forward once again as if he is actually listening to the teacher.

Alice can't help herself – she lets out a quiet giggle that sounds like silver bells and quickly puts her hand over her mouth to muffle it. What's so funny, she has no idea. Maybe she just likes that Jasper broke the rules to his own game.

The bell rings and everyone rushes for the door. Alice slowly stands and bends down, taking her bag off the floor, very aware that Jasper is lingering also. Even Mr. Banner has left the silent classroom.

"I'm Jasper, by the way." the boy says, giving Alice a lopsided smile as she turns to face him. Alice smiles also.

"I'm Alice." she tells him, pushing an unruly lock of black hair off her forehead.

"Pleasure to meet you, Alice," His voice is quiet, deep, and laced with that lovely Southern accent.

"Likewise." she chirps, grateful that her voice is naturally smooth and silky to make up for the fact that it is so much louder and higher than his that it would sound harsh by comparison if she were human.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He grins at her once more, winks, and then turns and heads out of the classroom, melting into the rush of students in the hall. Alice uses the nearest lab-station counter for support. Had they been...flirting? She shakes her head, clearing it of the strange fog that had settled there.

_Human. Jasper is a human. Don't think about him_, Alice chants to herself as she heads to gym, which she has with Bella.

But no such luck. For the rest of the day, the boy with the golden hair and sea-green eyes is trapped in her mind. And she can't tell for the life of her if that's a good or bad thing.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Alice spends even longer than normal deciding what to wear. Finally, she settles on a cute summer dress she just picked up at Barneys when she was in New York last weekend that is flouncy and ends at her mid-thighs, a brown leather cropped jacket, and matching fashionable brown cowgirl boots that end mid-calf. She flattens her hair down in a pixie-cut, and goes with natural make up.

On the way to school, it hits Alice exactly why she had dressed like that. Jasper is from Texas. She wanted to groan and smack herself on the forehead. Really? Cowgirl boots? Good thing she'd decided against the cowgirl style hat. That would be just embarrassing. Of course, the outfit itself isn't embarrassing – cowgirl boots are completely in right now – it's just the fact that she subconsciously did it to impress Jasper. Jasper probably has never even worn cowboy boots in his life. He's probably from Dallas or Houston or some big city like that.

Edward snorts from the driver's seat, and Alice's already large eyes widen further. Oh, god. Was he listening to her thoughts?

"You've got to get a grip, Alice." Edward grins tauntingly at her from the rear view mirror. A squeak escapes Alice's lips.

"Bella!" Alice cries, and it takes Bella a second to put together what's going on before her shield slams up around Alice.

"Edward, what are you doing to her?" Bella asks accusingly, her brows furrowing together.

"Nothing!" Edward says defensively. "She's been thinking about some human boy since yesterday. It's driving me crazy."

"Edward!" Alice cries again, feeling suddenly very trapped in her spot between Rose and Emmett. Their eyes are all trained on her.

"What human boy?" Rose asks, a frown creeping onto her goddess-like face. With her blonde locks pulled back into a tight ballet bun and her face void of any make up save for a sheath of red lipstick, she looks even more severe today than usual and makes Alice twice as fidgety beneath her critical gaze.

"The new one," Edward answers when Alice remains silent.

"Shut up!" Alice commands angrily, growing hot and flustered.

"Alice has a crush!" Emmett sing-songs, ruffling her hair that she had spent so much time flattening down and styling. Edward starts laughing, Bella begins to chew him out for invading Alice's business, and Emmett starts in with the K-I-S-S-I-N-G song. It's chaos, and Alice is right in the middle of it, wanting to crawl in a hole and hide. But that is just not her style. She holds her chin high, her shoulders back, and stares evenly out the windshield, watching the yellow dashes in the center of the road as if they hold the meaning of life itself.

"Let Alice explain." Rose says in a loud, authoritative voice. Alice loved her for a moment for stopping the insanity, but then despised her for shoving her out onto the middle of the stage with no lines in front of an audience full of critics and skeptics.

But if there's one thing Alice is good at, it's improvising.

"I do _not_ have a crush," Alice says, giving a pointed look at Emmett. They had stopped now, and Edward and Bella had each twisted around to look at her full on. "Jasper sits next to me in biology. He seemed interesting, considering he is the polar opposite of Chief Whitlock, and even introduced himself. I thought it was odd that a human would do that. I am curious about him, not in love with him." she tells the entirety of the car in her most sophisticated voice, looking oh, so poised as she sits with her hands folded neatly on her lap and her back straight, meeting all of their eyes without flinching. Bella looks confused, Edward disbelieving, Emmett disappointed, and Rose relieved.

That leaves only Edward to deal with. She gives him a sharp, meaningful look just as he sucks in a breath to rip apart everything she just said and he stops short, recognizing that look. It's her signature _We need to talk_, look. He gives the tiniest of nods and they all pile out wordlessly.

Everyone goes their own ways, but Edward, of course, loops back around to Alice once they're all out of ear-shot, sticking to her like glue as she weaves gracefully through the passing students.

"Now why are you really obsessing over this guy?" Edward asks under his breath, so low the humans have no hope of hearing.

"I don't know, okay? I just...liked him. Not in a lovey-dovey sort of way, in a friendly sort of way. He seemed nice and fun. I know that's a crime in Edward's World of Rules and Boredom, but try to just relax. Being interested by a human isn't going to hurt anyone." Alice tells him, irritated as she spins the dial of her locker with a little too much force.

Edward leans against the locker next to hers at an angle so he can see her eyes, which are a fresh gold thanks to the hunt she went on yesterday to have a little alone time. "It's not other people getting hurt I'm worried about," Edward says in a husky voice, his mouth mashed into an unattractive, worried line. "It's you." And then he turns on the heel of the shiny black shoes Alice and Rose had bought him last weekend and heads back the way they had come.

Alice sighs at his dramatics, wrenching her locker open and grabbing her textbook and notebook for her first hour, clunking down the hall in her stupid cowgirl boots.

Jasper wasn't there at lunch, which Alice made sure to keep off my mind for Edward's sake although she was bitterly disappointed. Why she was upset, though, she had no idea.

But when she danced into the biology room she found him sitting at their lab station. Usually Alice was the first one there, but it looked like he had been there for a while. Did he not eat lunch at all?

Jasper looked up at her and smiled. "Hello, Alice," he says in his demure, Southern voice.

"Hi, Jasper," Alice replies in her high, musical one, prancing over to her seat and carefully setting her Marc Jacobs handbag on the floor, propped up against the leg of the table so it isn't exposed to too much dirt. She hates leaving her babies down there every day, but Mr. Banner always gets angry when she sets it on the table.

They listen to Mr. Banner talk again that day, and Alice pretends to take notes while actually doodling a picture of the Chanel logo with a background sketch of her favorite Chanel store in Paris.

At the end of the day, Alice waits for all the other students to rush out before gracefully leaning over and plucking her bag off the floor. But as she sits back up, straightening herself out and preparing to leave, she realizes Jasper has lingered also and is leaning against the front of their table, directly in front of her.

"I like your boots." he says simply and quietly with a slow smile and a wink, and then saunters casually out of the room with his hands shoved in his pockets as if that was completely normal. Alice glances down at her cowgirl boots and she gets the sensation of her cheeks burning although she can't blush.

He noticed the boots. Alice can't decide whether to cry from embarrassment or squeal with delight. Because if he noticed something like what was on her feet, he must have been noticing _her_ too. And that, she decides, makes the embarrassment totally worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday passed in much the same fashion. Jasper greeted Alice in biology with a reserved, "Hello, Alice," and she replied with a chipper, "Hi, Jasper." Then they spent the rest of the hour either playing their glancing game again, or on Thursday Alice created a new game where she tried to see how many times she could "accidentally" have some sort of skin contact with Jasper. He is so warm and soft and muscled – how could she possibly resist? And on Friday it was a combination of the glancing and touching game, causing Alice's stomach to be chalk-full of butterflies all hour.

And by the end of class on Friday, she had decided she couldn't take their standard interactions any more. And so when the bell rings, and Jasper shuffles out of his seat, slinging his bag on his back, Alice scrambles for something witty and charming to say.

"It's raining," she blurts out in a moment of pure panic. And then wishes she could rewind time and hurry out of the classroom as normal. _It's raining_? _That_ was the witty phrase she came up with? Why did she even care about talking to him in the first place?

Jasper turns towards her, leaning casually against the lab station, a golden brow arched (which Alice thinks is insanely sexy – although she's never once thought that the countless times Edward has done it) and an amused smile playing on his broad pink lips. His turquoise eyes flicker to the window behind her where a light drizzle trickles down from the gray clouds. "I would be surprised if it wasn't," he jokes lightly.

"That's not what I meant to say," Alice squeezes her eyes shut, clearing her head, and then tries with something else. "I meant to ask what part of Texas you came from. My cousin is from Texas," she tacks on the last part quickly.

"Ah, I can see how you might get those two confused," Jasper chuckles and Alice winces a little. She must sound like a complete idiot to him. Seeing her embarrassment, Jasper quickly says, "I lived in Houston." So he was from a big city. Just like Alice had expected. When Alice, off in thought, doesn't say anything after a second, Jasper asks, "Could I walk you to your next class? My schedule is messed up and I don't have a sixth hour yet so I have time to kill."

Alice nods eagerly. "Sure. I have gym, though. It's on the other side of campus. Might take a while." she warns while hoping that won't deter him. By now, Alice is absolutely fascinated by this young mortal boy. He's done nothing particularly out of the ordinary but she's drawn to him like a naive moth to an electric light.

"I've got time," Jasper murmurs with a small smile, his blue eyes burning into Alice's golden ones. She clenches one hand, digging her nails into her granite skin. She wishes she could tell him forget gym, her time would be much better spent with him.

"Then let's go," Alice replies in the coolest voice she can manage, gliding past him in her black flats – desperately missing the extra inches that heels offer while standing next to his lean, 6'3" figure. He towers far above her.

They walk through nearly empty hallways, most of the small population of Forks High already having found their classes. Alice was definitely going to be late today – not that she cared at all.

"So what part of Texas is your cousin from?" Jasper asks after a few moments of silence between them.

"What cousin?" Alice muses, lost in her own world. And then her eyes widen as she realizes that was her excuse for talking to him in the first place. She glances over at him and finds a knowing tugging at the corners of his lips. "Uh, Dallas," she names the first city that comes to mind that isn't Houston.

"Right," Jasper's voice isn't sarcastic or harsh, but it clearly says he caught her bluff. Alice wants to kick herself. Where is all her cool, her poise, when it matters most?

"So why would anyone move from somewhere like Houston to..Forks?" Alice makes a face as she says Forks, as if the word itself tastes horrible, and Jasper laughs at how adorable she looks.

"Mostly family stuff. And I got mixed in with the wrong crowd back in Texas. Got in a few fights and my mom nearly had a heart attack every time." Jasper grins humorlessly, and Alice is a little shocked. Jasper seems so laid-back and reserved, the thought of him getting into a serious fight with someone is just a little baffling. Is that where the scars she had previously noticed on him came from?

Alice wants to press for more information – like why he got into the fights and what kind of family stuff – but can clearly tell that he doesn't want to talk about it by his uncomfortable facial expression, tone of voice, and body language. "Well do you like it here?" Alice looks out from beneath the awning at the rain and gray skies. She actually enjoys the rain. You kind of have to build up at least a tolerance for it when you're a vampire.

Jasper snorts. "Uh, no, not really. I mean, it's all right. But I miss my friends back home, my mom, my dog, my school, the light of day!" Jasper laughs and Alice joins in. His laugh is a throaty bass while hers is like wind-chimes. Together, they blend into something beautiful.

"The rain isn't so bad, really. Kind of fun," Alice stares longingly out at the fat raindrops coming down, wishing she could kick her shoes off and run through the rain and mud like a crazy child.

"Fun? How can freezing cold, dirty drops of water be fun?" Jasper does that wicked cool eyebrow raise, and Alice give a noncommittal shrug.

"Like this." And then she pushes him (with maybe a bit too much force than she should have) out from beneath the metal awning and into the rain. He stumbles in the soggy grass and soil, his tattered shoes sinking into the wet earth, and looks so completely shocked it causes Alice to burst into laughter.

He jumps back under the awning seconds later, already soaking wet and looking like a cat who was forced to take a bath. "Oh, you're going to regret that," he mutters with a devious glint in his eyes.

"No way.." She backs away slowly from him, "These boots are Gucci. I just bought them. If they get muddy and wet-" Alice doesn't have time to finish, because suddenly Jasper's arms are around her. He picks her up bridal style as if she weighs but a pound. Alice doesn't struggle, not wanting to appear anything more than human, but her gold eyes are large and round as she stares out at the unrelenting rain just waiting to destroy her meticulously done hair, make up, and expensive outfit.

But suddenly, she realizes something. She is in Jasper's arms. He is holding her. How many times has she daydreamed about this in the past week? She becomes acutely aware of various things at once – the feeling of Jasper's warm skin against hers, the smell of his spicy cologne, his cinnamon breath fanning across her face, his muscular chest pressed against her, the feel of his heartbeat through his worn, wet black shirt.

She wraps her thin arms around his neck, clinging to him tightly as though in fear when in reality it's because she no longer cares if she gets soaked as long as makes the most of this. She closes her eyes and presses her head against his chest. He stops for a moment, and with the finely tuned instincts of a predator, she can feel his eyes on her face.

And then the cold rain hits her. She squeaks, startled, and her grip around Jasper tightens instinctively causing him to release a grunt of pain. Alice begins to squirm for freedom – forgetting that she shouldn't be so careless with her strength.

Jasper curses loudly, shocked by her sudden bout of strength, and they both go tumbling into the mud. Alice hears Jasper hit the ground hard, and knows she does as well but doesn't feel it with her rock-hard skin. She scurries quickly over to where he lay face-up on the grass, eyes closed.

She leans over him, her hands supporting her on either side of his neck. "Jasper? Are you okay? I'm sorry. I didn't-" She cuts herself off, prickly warmth flitting over her skin just half a second before she is suddenly in the future. She sees Jasper open his eyes and spring on Alice, pinning her down. And then she sees him kiss her.

She smiles slowly, returning to the present, and then plays along with his scheme, feigning worry. "Come on, Jasper, wake up, please," she whispers as if truly concerned for his well-being. And then, just as expected, his blue-green eyes shoot open and he rushes Alice, getting her pinned down in the muddy grass with no struggle on her part. His body presses down on hers tightly but he supports his weight carefully in a useless attempt to not hurt her.

"You got me, tiger," she whispers teasingly, a smile on her lips.

"Did I?" he murmurs quietly back, face leaning towards her. She wants to hoist herself up and kiss him already, but doesn't want to irritate the future.

Suddenly, though, Jasper shoots back and is on his feet in an instant. "I'm so sorry." he stammers, and then exclaims,"I don't even know you!" He sounds angry but thankfully not angry at Alice - angry at himself. "I have a.. I need to go," Jasper mutters and then runs off quickly towards the student parking lot.

Alice sits up slowly, the rain still coming down. She stares after his retreating form longingly. He has a what? And what made him decide kissing her was wrong? Sure they don't know each other, but couldn't he feel the connection? He may be a human and she may be immortal but it could work. After all, nothing is impossible for Alice Cullen if she puts her mind to it. Something beautiful could happen between them – Alice just knows it.

She stands up, crossing her arms over her chest, staring evenly in the direction he disappeared in. And if he doesn't think so, it's up to her to show him, she decides. One way or another.


	4. Chapter 4

The weekend passed slowly. Esme drug Carlisle to a gardening seminar a few towns away, Edward and Bella went to a concert of one of their favorite bands that practically no one else enjoys, and Em and Rose went hunting in California. Alice was left to her own devices – which is never a good idea.

First, she preoccupied herself with a teensy-weensy shopping splurge in Seattle. Twenty shopping bags is practically a new all time low for her. That lasted practically all of Saturday. She returned home in the evening, where she just so happened to be skimming through the Forks High Directory they had received at school yesterday, and her eyes just so happened to land on the name Jasper Whitlock. And she just so happened to notice his address.

That night, Alice dressed in a pair of snug black skinny jeans, a black lacy tank-top, knee-high black leather boots with two-inch heels, and a black silk headband. She even used her brand new coal eyeliner to draw dramatic black lines beneath her eyes like some sort of vampire ninja.

And then she stealthily slips out of the empty house, and sneaks across town through the dark. When she arrives at Jasper's house, she listens carefully inside. A football game is playing downstairs, and a quick peek in the window revealed Chief Whitlock asleep on the couch, his hand still buried in a bowl of Cheetos on his chest.

She easily scales the tree on the side of the house, following the sound of Jasper's breathing and heartbeat. She peeks through the slightly ajar window, hiding herself among the thick green leaves. She finds Jasper on his bulky, stone-age computer, Radiohead coming from the speakers, humming along quietly to himself and never missing a beat. He's on Facebook, and Alice's quick eyes notice that he's chatting with someone although his shoulder obscures the majority of the conversation from her view. Probably a friend from Texas.

He exits out a minute or two later, and then stands and faces the window. Alice cowers back among the leaves. He stares out at the velvety sky for a moment, and then very suddenly pulls his shirt up and over his head. His chest and stomach are muscled and Alice can't help but ogle.

He turns towards the dresser mirror, his back to Alice, and pushes his golden hair off his neck and leans towards the mirror, angling his body slightly. It takes Alice a second to realize what he is doing: observing the bruises on the back of his neck.

Alice remembers suddenly tightening her grip on him as they stepped into the rain yesterday, and his sound of pain. Alice's thin fingers raise to her mouth, which has opened like an 'o'. She hurt him. And really, it could have been so much worse. She sends a silent thank you to whoever may be listening for not letting her break his fragile neck.

But instead of looking angry that Alice would hurt him like that, she notices Jasper looks...amused. "She's crazy," he murmurs to himself with a shake of his head and a grin. Alice can't help but smile too.

Something on the dresser catches Jasper's eye, and Alice watches as he picks up the gray and plum colored Forks High Directory. He flips the pages, and stops in the C division of last names. C for..Cullen? Alice leans forward eagerly as his finger trails down the page. He lays the directory flat on the dresser, and Alice can clearly see his finger lingering on her own name. His finger glides over to her phone number, and she realizes she left her cell phone at home. If he calls, all he'll get is her generic, default voice-mail. How could she be so stupid?

But then Jasper slams the directory closed, throwing it across the room where it hits the wall and then drops behind a small couch in the corner.

Alice's heart sinks.

She growls indignantly, crossing her arms across her chest. Jasper pauses, and Alice freezes. He turns slowly to the window, turquoise eyes searching the darkness. Alice remains as still as a statue, nails digging into the bark of the tree in fear. If he sees her, all hell will break loose.

But Jasper just shakes his head, as if trying to clear it, and trudges out of his room, closing a door a moment later of what must be a bathroom because a shower begins to run. Alice huffs and slides down the tree. She had been hoping for something a little more encouraging than that.

Monday at school, Alice walks purposefully into the biology room. She dressed uber-cute today – a black and gray checkered Mulberry dress that looks somewhat like an oversized flannel t-shirt with a thick belt to accent her small waist and thee-quarter length sleeves, and bright red Jimmy Choo heels. She put on red lipstick to match her heels, and kept the rest of her make up subtle and her hair flat and straight. Her legs are shown off, her lips have attention drawn to them, and her curves are accentuated properly.

"Hey, Alice," Jasper greets her as she walks in, his eyes roaming her bare legs. Alice likes that he used hey instead of hello. It feels a little more familiar.

"Hi, Jasper," she says as usual, setting her Prada handbag in the usual spot and gracefully taking a seat as she waits for him to say something.

Jasper turns towards her, moistening his lips with his tongue quickly, greenish blue eyes boring into her large, round, gold ones. "I'm sorry about Friday. I kind of left you hanging," he says with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine," Alice says coolly, inspecting her recently redone French manicure.

"You think maybe I could make it up to you? I could walk you to gym today, if you'll let me." His smile is adorable and a bit sheepish.

"If you want," Alice doesn't let her cool voice falter, but she can't hold back the grin that spreads across her face.

"Cool." Jasper nods and smiles broader. "So how was your weekend?"

Alice likes that he's attempting conversation with her, and decides to stop with the frostiness. "It was..uneventful, but still nice." she tells him with a cute little smile.

"Good," Jasper says genuinely, as though he is truly glad that Alice had a nice weekend. "I basically sat at home all weekend, pretending to be interested in the games Charlie watches."

"I bet he's happy to have you there," Alice muses, writing her name in cursive with her pencil eraser on the black counter top.

"Not really," Jasper shrugs. "I don't think he cares either way."

Alice frowns, not liking that answer. Jasper needs someone that cares about him to lead him in the right direction – she can most certainly tell that by now. If his father doesn't care about Jasper, how is he going to prevent the same things that happened in Texas from happening again?

But she has no time to comment on it because Mr. Banner begins to talk and Jasper turns away from her, conversation over for now.

Alice tunes Mr. Banner out as she scours Jasper for a conversation piece. Maybe she could ask about the worn black leather bracelet on his wrist with the wooden design in the middle that looks like just a bunch of circles to her. But what if one of his friends gave it to him, or his mother, and making him talk about it would just make him sad and cause him to dislike Forks even more?

Her eyes drop to his unzipped backpack on the floor. Books spill out of it like a rock slide, and one in particular catches Alice's eye – a red Spanish 1 book. Alice is in AP Spanish. Maybe he could use tutoring.

Banner gives them a long, tedious bookwork assignment, and as soon as he picks of up a _National Geographic_ magazine and settles back in his chair, Alice strikes up conversation with Jasper. "So you're in Spanish 1 this year?" she asks, eyes flickering down to the Spanish book again as if to confirm it is still there and didn't run off to make her look like an idiot.

"What?" Jasper looks confused for a moment like he hadn't heard her, and this his eyes follow hers to the book. "Oh, yeah." He frowns unhappily and looks ready to add something, but Alice cuts him off.

"Are you having a hard time with it? I'm in AP Spanish, and if it gets too tough, I could tutor you." she says in a cool voice, smiling cutely at him and shrugging indifferently.

Jasper contemplates for a moment, and then the crease between his eyebrows on his forehead smooth out and he replies with, "Yeah, that'd be awesome. When could we start?" Alice smiles wider just as prickles dance over her skin and then she gets the rush of jumping forward in time. She sees herself and Jasper at the run-down cafe in Forks that almost no one ever goes to, a textbook and workbook between them, their hands touching slightly. As usual, she scours the image for anything of importance – the clock hanging on the wall reads 3:30, and the newspaper being held up by someone in the corner has today's date.

"Could you do today? 3:15 at the Apple Barrel?" she asks hopefully, crossing her fingers under the table for luck.

"Yeah, that sounds perfect," Jasper grins, and Alice wants to get up and do her happy dance which involves lots of jumping, clapping, and squealing. But she remains cool and poised, shoulders back and head high. The only give away is the huge grin threatening to break her face in two.

After class, Jasper walks Alice to gym. This time there is no playful shoves or almost-kisses in the rain. They just talk. Alice went ahead and asked him about the bracelet, and he explained it is called an eternal love knot, and he got it from some hippie shop in Galveston that practically no one has heard of. Alice likes hearing him tell stories.

Oh, who is she kidding? Alice doesn't just like hearing Jasper's stories. Alice likes _Jasper_ - much more than she might ever be able to admit.

When Alice arrives at the cafe at 3:25 (fashionably late, of course), Jasper is already there sitting at the booth Alice had seen in her vision. She prances over to the table, causing the one or two others in the cafe to glance up and watch her, mesmerized. She's like the most beautiful ballerina to have ever graced the earth with her presence.

Jasper is drumming is fingers on the wooden tabletop anxiously until he catches sight of Alice. A smile floods his face and she smiles back. "I thought you might not show up," he confesses as she slides gracefully into the booth across from him.

"I got a little tied up," she says mysteriously, although honestly she had been redoing her make up and hair and timed her arrival down to the second.

"Oh," Jasper looks confused and Alice can practically see all the possibilities racing through his head of where she might have been – or with who. "Well, maybe I could get your number. You know, because of the tutoring thing." he tacks on the last part quickly and Alice gets butterflies just at how adorable it is.

"Of course. Let me see your hand." she instructs, opening her Prada handbag and pulling out a magenta ink pen. He reaches his hand across the table, a little puzzled, and Alice positions it and then quickly and neatly writes her number across his palm. Beneath it, she writes her first name with a little heart next to it. Then she releases his hand and drops the pen back in her bag.

"Cool," Jasper grins, staring at her elegant script. "So, uh, I brought my book. And workbook." Jasper reaches into his backpack at his side and pulls out two books, dropping them on the table with a thud.

"Where should we begin?" Alice asks, her red lips pursed and looking extremely kissable, which Alice can tell doesn't escape Jasper's attention seeing as his eyes are drawn to her lips.

"How about the beginning?" Jasper suggests, a corner of his lips tugging up in a smile as he rakes one hand sheepishly through his wavy blonde hair.

"As good a place as any," Alice replies with a sweet smile of her own. They both reach for his book at the same time, and their hands bump into each other. Their eyes flash up to meet each others, blue on gold, and slowly Jasper's fingers wrap around Alice's small hand without their eyes ever leaving each other.

"Thank you for doing this," he murmurs, not even wincing at her colder than snow skin.

"No problem," Alice breathes, her head light. Jasper nods and smiles, pushing the book over to her. Alice's eyes glance up at the clock just as it ticks past 3:30.

They go over the beginnings of Spanish for about an hour. Alice greets him and asks a basic question, such as how old he is or what's his name, and Jasper replies in wobbly, horribly butchered Spanish that Alice gently corrects and critiques.

After an hour, they've both had enough Spanish for the day and head out of the old cafe. Jasper walks her to her silver Prius. He leans against the frame with one arm and Alice presses her back against the driver's seat door.

"Do you think maybe we could do this again tomorrow?" Jasper asks, his Southern accent nearly making Alice swoon for the millionth time.

"I'd love to," Alice says a bit to eagerly, biting her lip.

"Great. See you at school, Alice," Jasper murmurs, and then suddenly swoops down to her and presses his soft lips lightly on her cheek. Alice nearly melts into a pool of teenage girl lust right then and there. He smiles at her once more, and then turns and heads across the lot to his beat up old Chevy.

Alice sinks into the soft leather of her car, eyes closed as she attempts to get a grip on reality. Edward's patronizing stares float into her mind, and her own guilt floods her. Jasper is a human. And every second she spends with him causes her to grow more and more attached. And she knows next to nothing about him, other than that he moved from Texas where he was mixed up in the wrong crowd and he has no affinity for Spanish whatsoever.

And yet she feels like they knew each other in a different lifetime. A parallel universe where their relationship could actually work, or at least make sense. She wishes with all her heart she was human – something she has never wished for before.

She sighs and revs the engine, heading home with her head pounding and heart aching. On the way, she finally decides that she doesn't care about something like a difference in species. She'll make it work. She will.


End file.
